“The widespread use of harmful substances among children in many countries in the European region – and beyond – poses a serious threat to public health,” said the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, in response to the results of a new survey published by his home organization on Thursday .
“Since the brain continues to develop even after the twenties, teenagers need to be protected from the effects of toxic and dangerous products. “Unfortunately, children today are constantly exposed to targeted online marketing of harmful products, while popular culture such as video games normalizes them,” the doctor added.
The report published by the WHO works with data from 2021-22 and looked at 280,000 children from 44 countries. It covers cigarette smoking, electronic cigarette use, alcohol consumption, drunkenness and cannabis use. But it also focuses on the role of gender, age and social inequalities, or how the use of addictive substances by teenagers has changed over time.
When it comes to alcohol, England comes out worst in the entire survey, where more than a third of boys (35%) and girls (34%) have tried alcohol by the age of 11. The English also hold first place in the group of thirteen-year-olds, where 50% of boys and 57% of girls have already consumed alcohol.
England fell to the bottom rungs (12th place) only in the last surveyed group of fifteen-year-olds (65% of boys, 74% of girls).
As for Czech children and alcohol, they hold their place in the top ten in all groups. In the section of fifteen-year-olds, the Czech Republic even ranked higher than the aforementioned England, in 5th place – 75% of girls and 71% of boys reported experience with alcohol.
About 48% of them also said that they had consumed alcohol in the last 30 days, and 23% of them had been drunk at least twice.
According to the WHO, significant differences between the sexes are observed only in the Czech Republic and Moldova. In general, however, it can be observed that the gender differences in the use of addictive substances tend to decrease. Moreover, it is girls at the age of 15 who equal or even surpass boys of the same age in terms of smoking, alcohol consumption and use of electronic cigarettes.
Other addictive substances
Czech children have less experience with smoking traditional cigarettes than with alcohol in all the studied groups. However, the rate of these experiences increases with age, just as in the case of e-cigarettes. Moreover, more young Czechs tried them than traditional cigarettes by a difference of one percentage point.
However, e-cigarettes have overtaken classic cigarettes in the “popularity” of the entire ranking.
As for cannabis, 18% of Czech boys and 14% of girls have experience using it. According to the overall figures, however, cannabis use shows a slight decline – the proportion of 15-year-olds who have ever used cannabis fell from 14% in 2018 to 12% in 2022.
Czechs and alcohol
More than a million Czechs consume alcohol to an unhealthy extent. Some politicians therefore come up with proposals to limit consumption. Price increases and advertising regulation are at stake. However, it will not work without prevention, reminds the anti-drug coordinator.
According to the WHO, preventive measures must be taken to protect the health of adolescents. But the authors of the report also draw attention to the fact that “involvement in risky behavior during adolescence can shape behavior in adulthood, while the use of addictive substances at an early age is associated with a higher risk of addiction.”
As examples of how countries could achieve a reduction in the use of alcohol, nicotine and tobacco products among children, the report cites, for example, an increase in consumption taxes, a reduction in sales time or a reduction in points of sale, or the enforcement of a comprehensive ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
Tags: figures quarters #15yearold Czechs experience alcohol
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